This invention relates to the field of roulette and other casino oriented table games where wagering occurs. Roulette is one of the most popular and well-known casino games steeped in tradition and excitement. In such game, a wheel with colored and numbered areas, e.g., depressions, delineated cages, etc., is spun on its vertical axis after which a ball is introduced upon the moving rotating wheel surface until the ball ultimately comes to rest upon one of such numbered areas.
It is well recognized that as the wheel slows in speed and the movement of the ball moving and/or bouncing along the wheel's surface slows as well, observers, e.g., those bettors playing the game, have a better idea, that is, heightened odds, of choosing which of the numbered or colored areas the ball will ultimately come to rest upon thus determining the winner. The casino employee, dealer or croupier overseeing the table normally controls the movement when no more bets may be placed on the outcome of where the ball will rest and this call or decision is made on the basis of experience and judgment and preferably before the wheel slows to a point where the players can see where or which area of the wheel the ball is going to ultimately rest upon. In other words, the dealer or croupier that is overseeing the table has to not only judge when to terminate further betting based on the speed of the rotating wheel and to some extent the speed and other ball movement, but the croupier must also rule as to whether or not any of the players, i.e., bettors, have improperly placed or withdrawn bets after the “No More Bets” verbal announcement is made. The croupier thus has to observe the ball, the wheel, their relative speeds and movements as well as simultaneously observe whether any bets were made, withdrawn or modified after the “No More Bets” announcement was made.
Although croupiers are skilled, the above duties are demanding and should be carried out in a professional but exciting manner that lends enjoyment to the overall wagering experience. It would, accordingly, be advantageous to provide a system which assists the croupier in his or her duties, e.g., one that would match the wheel's speed to a predetermined speed based on prior experience to a programmed “No More Bets” announcement by a recorded voice or other signal and/or an audible or visual cue to the croupier to make the No More Bets” announcement. Such a system would reduce the croupier's work load, and the casino management could better control the odds by selecting the predetermined wheel speed level at which the “No More Bets” announcement would be made, e.g., the higher the wheel speed, the less likely players could get any feel for where the ball was going thus increasing the odds or at least moving the odds to a point of pure change and vice versa by lowering the predetermined wheel speed.
Another feature of a casino style roulette table is that there is a designated betting area generally rectangular in shape and with a defined perimeter and divided with generally square or rectangular betting areas corresponding to the roulette wheel's numbers and colors and on which betting areas the players place chips in order to register their bets on the outcome of the wheel spin. The players sit adjacent this betting area while the croupier generally sits or stands across from the players and the wheel at the other tableside. Players may place, modify or remove chips at any time prior to the “No More Bets” call by either having the croupier do so or by actually moving their hands across the periphery of the betting area and manipulating the chips into or away from the individual betting areas. Obviously, the croupier has to closely monitor these player actions and be sure no betting takes place after the “No More Bets” call. Thus, anything that would help the croupier perform this duty would be beneficial.
As previously indicated, roulette is a traditional game and actual physical changes to the wheel, the ball or the manner the game is played probably would not be well received; however, features which could add excitement, inform the players about current or upcoming casino events or simply pure advertising that does not interfere with the playing of each wheel spin would generally be welcomed by the players and beneficial to the casino especially if such included paid advertisements. Thus, devising an information and advertisement roulette feature would be advantageous to both the players and the casino as well.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a hardware and operational system that addresses the above-indicated concerns to improve the croupier's consistency and monitoring performance and add excitement to the game without detracting from its tradition.
It is also another object of the present invention to incorporate means for determining the ball and/or wheel speed in roulette gaming and to utilize such means in a system for announcing the “No More Bets” cut off.
A still further object of the present invention is to correlate the traditional oral “No More Bets” announcement with a visible announcement display on the betting table itself.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.